Every ocean sailor's favorite book, and #1 on my list!

From the guy who wrote the 'Little Prince.' He was a mail pilot in the early days of airplanes, flying the mail route over the Sahara. This book directly relates to sailing in the philosophies behind it, and a beautiful read.

Influenced Moitessier, and one of the great voyages in small boat sailing history. Dumas was known for always keeping some sail up, no matter the weather!

John sailed around Cape Horn literally the day I was born - January 25, 1984 - and he's recently been a mentor of mine. All of his books are on this list, but this is a good technical one mixed with storytelling like only he can, to get you started.

If we ever take Isbjorn to the Pacific, this will be the route we re-trace! Great storytelling on a boat very similar to Arcturus.

Another Moitessier classic! This one famously describes his storm tactics, later dubbed in 'Heavy Weather Sailing' the 'Moitessier Method', though he actually borrowed the technique from Vito Dumas', another on our books list!

David Lewis is one of the unsung single-handers of the 1960s and 1970s - unless of course you've heard of him! This is a survival story as much as it is a sailing story, chronicling his circumnavigation of Antarctica. David Lewis previously had a ketch called 'Isbjorn', a big part of the inspiration for our own Isbjorn.

"Any long voyage should start on a foundation of financial unrest." Well said, sir. If this doesn't inspire you to go, and go now, nothing will.

John rounded the Horn on January 25, 1984, literally the day I was born, on the classic Contessa 32 'Gigi.' This is his incredible account of that voyage, and the book that introduced me to him in the first place. John would later teach me celestial and has become a mentor to me in my sailing career.

Eric Newby wrote 'The Great Grain Race,' and spent time on tall ships. But he was also known as one of the UK's best travel writers in his day, and this is one of those books. If you like adventure, check it out.

Pete Goss sailed 100 miles upwind in hurricane force to rescue a fellow Vendee Globe racer. This is the story.

The book that got me into freediving, and a fascinating look at the ocean. Tangentially related to sailing, but one that all sailors should read.

The craziest story from the fabled Golden Globe Race of 1968, and probably the saddest. Crowhurst build the 'Teignmouth Electron' trimaran for the race, and never made it out of the Atlantic...the boat today is washed ashore somewhere in the Virgin Islands.

Swell is Liz Clark’s awesome and inspiring story of sailing, self-discovery, surfing, and adventure. Check it out!

My favorite coffee table book (too big to keep on the boat!), and a Christmas present from Mia a few years back. Every country in the world has a full two-page spread with awesome little tidbits of information and beautiful photographs.

The classic adventure story of Thor and his crazy Norwegian friends who set out from South America on a balsa wood raft to prove that the South Pacific could have been populated by South American's. The museum in Oslo is equally fascinating!

From Outside Magazine: "By now, most people know this story down to the last dog and cat, but the immediacy of Worsley's account revitalizes it. If you don't feel his sorrow in losing his ship to the ice pack, share his delirium glissading down to the South Georgia whaling station that would be their salvation (a scene to which Shackleton, ever careful not to seem whimsical, gives only a cursory line in South), or tear up when the two men return to their friends on Elephant Island 128 days after they set out, you don't love adventure."

The incredible log of Admiral Richard Byrd who spent a long, dark winter alone in Antarctica, basically just to see if he could do it!

Alvah Simon heads north in his iconic boat, the 'Roger Henry,' and gets frozen in for a long winter of spiritual inspiration. He nearly dies when his diesel heater basically suffocates him with carbon monoxide. One of several books that has me drawn to the Arctic...

Recommended by the author himself, Yanne Larsson, but also on my own list! The fantastic and hilarious tale of two Swedes - Yanne and Carl - who set out to circumnavigate the globe on a handshake agreement with zero previous sailing experience. There will be more to come from me on this title, so stay tuned...

The true-life tale of two competing dive clubs on the coast of New Jersey that discovered a previously unidentified German U-Boat wreck, and the subsequent quest to be the first to identify it. Even if you're not a diver - but especially if you are - it's a great read.

Thanks James B. for recommending this gem, Maiden!

Maiden is the story of how Tracy Edwards, a 24-year-old cook in charter boats, became the skipper of the first ever all-female crew to enter the Whitbread Round the World in 1989. Tracy's inspirational dream was opposed on all sides: her male competitors thought an all-women crew would never make it, the chauvinistic yachting press took bets on her failure, and potential sponsors rejected her, fearing they would die at sea and generate bad publicity. But Tracy refused to give up: she remortgaged her home and bought a secondhand boat, putting everything on the line to ensure the team made it to the start line.

I just discovered this one after reading about Andy Chase, whose writing I love. This is a wonderful account of what it’s like working in the American Merchant Marine onboard ships! -Andy

This one was recommended by Bruce M., but I'm also including it in my list, as it's an all-time classic that I had forgotten about! The first real attempt to solo circumnavigate, with one stop in Australia. Set off a lot of future solo voyages.

Thanks to Lance Garms for reminding me of this one! "Godforsaken Sea is the hair-raising account of the world's most demanding, dangerous, and deadly sailing race. Around the world, one sailor, one boat, no stops, no assistance. Author Derek Lundy's vivid book follows the field of the 1996 - 1997 Vendee Globe through the race's grueling four-month circumnavigation of the globe, most of it through the terror of the Southern Ocean."

Our friend Micah gave this to us before the trans-Atlantic on 'Arcturus.' I read it on the way across. It's a story of some guys in a wooden boat who re-traced the Vikings voyage westabout across the Atlantic. Vinland was rumored to be Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, or even New England. Equal parts history book and really cool voyaging tale. -Andy